I've used Volka Lighting for SMD 5050 LED's & never had a problem with them inside cabinets. They have everything on hand, different aluminum profiles, joiners, power supplies, motion control on/off switches. The 5050 LED's are available in either 30 LEDs/m or 60 LEDs /m. Being in Hoppers Crossing you may have the chance to call in & they could supply the complete gear instead of piecing it together from all over the place. May not be the cheapest but at least you know your getting a decent product.
I know your not interested in remotes and that sort of thing, but I'd have a think about RBG LEDs, once you put up a single color your stuck with it. At least with RGB you have the option to change at a later date, even if it is back to white lol.
I'm in now way involved with them either, just like the product they have
www.volkalighting.com.au

With holier then tho attitudes like that you wouldn't make it out here.
Please enlighten me with your expert knowledge of the place, you guy's obviously have strong views & some sort of first hand experience of the area? Or are your comment's based on media reports & social misconceptions? Comments to make yourselves feel bigger?
After walking around the Hi-Fi show & speaking with some really nice people, reading the comments above was not something I expected to find on this site. Perhaps I should re-evaluate my thoughts about the Hi-Fi crowd being a bunch of egotistical, attention seeking, elitist wannabe's? Oh wait, that would be general assumption on a group I have no real information about.

Hi David,
I have a large amount of Isopropyl alcohol, depending on how much you need It shouldn't be a problem. I'm not going to miss a liter lol.
SDS generic list's it as 100% but the actual product spec sheet has it at 99.8%.
This is a dangerous good so posting is out of the question & DG courier fee's are huge.
If you let me know how much you need & can get to Melton in the evenings or weekend your welcome.
Motor oil- What about the always handy 3in1 light oil? Been around since about 1894 saving many sewing machines lol.

I'm really not sure about showcasing my system, but a handy spot to leave some dribble about plans, thoughts, ideas & post a few pics. I've always had Yamaha AVR's so now I'm old I'll stick with them as I know what 38% of the buttons on the remote do. If I go changing now it will just result in GOMFU (grumpy ole man flare up) which the good cook wont put up with & results in myself being banished to the garage. Not that I really mind, gives me a chance to think of something else to make or pull apart.
So this journey started because after 14 months of playing with a fish tank it was finally finding it's rhythm & I found myself with time to do other things. I've always wanted to something with the HT but time & finances had been directed into other activities. Now was my time to play with HT for a bit. So Uncle Google stepped up to plate & helped me out with so reviews on AVR's, speakers, cables & found Stereonet. I did find another AU forum but it didn't do anything for me so kept lurking around here
After deciding I was going to use a preamp / amp setup the next bit was to find a spot to stick it all. Like the next bloke I like a bargain so started searching around for the decent sized TV stand. They dont make em to big do they? With all the toys one can buy you'd think someone would come up with a stand that holds everything plus a bit more. Perhaps they do & I just never looked in the right place. Any way, I decided to build one that suited the bits I wanted to use, couldn't be that hard could it? Yeah right lol. Took a gander at some YouTube vid's laminating timber & figured that was above my skill set. Bench-tops! they are long, wide & solid. Found a local place that supplied raw Victorian Ash 26mm thick, 2100mm long, 600mm deep & figured that's gotta be as good as anything to build a stand from. We have a lot of timber around the shack so a coat of stain should blend it in nicely.
A few pics of the stand I built
Started with this bit first lol
Then progressed up to the top bit
Spent more then a couple of hours sanding & throwing around a paint brush to end up with a suitable stand
So then the cook pipes up with "your not putting that inside smelling like that! So it had to sit outside for a few days till the smell of the stain had drifted off to the neighbors. One weekend I started pulling the old pretend Harvey Norman stand out so I could maneuver the new stand in. I was half through doing that when I thought of taking a pic lol. You can tell it was a Saturday morning as Ben10 was still on Still have to finish the wall repair, we had to run cables to a second switch board for the tank & that was the easiest way to get into the back of the main switch board.
My wiring skills need a bit of work so hopefully this time around I will make a better job of running wires. I do have some power boards I'll use to switch off stuff that isn't used everyday. We use lots of power so switching gear off instead of standby makes a difference each month. I haven't worked out where I'm going to mount them yet.
At the end of the day I ended up with 3 speakers hooked back up, the TV going & the Xbox's in their new home. The original NES has been taken upstairs & plugged in up there. Not the greatest pic I know
I picked up the preamp last week along with the Bluray (CX-A5100 / BD-A1060) so they are installed into a hole & waiting on the other bits to get them running.
Stumbled across a Thor PS10 on Gumtree at the right price, after lurking around here & studying the threads, I decided to grab it. No idea if I need it or not but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Went & picked it up from a gentleman who turned out to be a member here by the name of David. Nice guy & very sweet sounding setup he was nice enough to show me, after hearing it from his doorstep lol. I had to text him that I was there, his doorbell is nowhere near as good as his stereo. Remember that "good idea" well after slinking back into the house with my new toy, the cook wants to know what "thing" I've brought now. I'm sure she has me under surveillance when I leave the shack! Probably doesn't help I'm an anti-social GOM so if I do go out other then work she knows I'm up to something. After a detailed explanation on the pro's of having one it seemed to get me a reprieve for the time being.
A couple of buy's from the classifieds here, a set of Zu RCA's & some Bi-wire Osborne speaker cables. After reading one of the threads & being a new bloke around here I might stay away from the classifieds.
So after all the dribble, this is what I have so far that will be staying....
LG TV
Yamaha CX-A5100 preamp
Yamaha BD-A1060 Bluray
Thor PS10 & board
Xbox 360 & Xbox OneS
Sony CDP-CX260 linked to a Sony CDP-CX200
Bits due next week...
13x Balanced XLR - XLR Canare L-2E5 / Neutrik cables 1.5m
2x RCA Canare L-2E5 / Canare F-series 1.5m
Wish list / research / toys
Electra amps- Really need these
Speakers- Kinda need these, but if speaking with the cook, "Really need these"
Room treatment- Seems the thing to do
Anti-vibration thingy's- Perhaps
That's about where I'm up to now. Thinking about doing a run around some stores tomorrow but I have to wake up & evaluate the day first.
I did have a message asking about our tanks. So I'll drop a couple of pics here. There are other tanks around here? I don't take to many Full tank shots as you cant see much being so far away lol, more close up coral pics. Marine tank is 12ft long 4ft wide & 2.5ft deep, 4000Ltrs total volume. There's also a 8x3x2.5 tropical tank in the same room. 6000Ltr's in our lounge with this HT stuff lol.
I'll leave you with these, sorry for dribbling on so much lol

Evening all,
Hopefully someone can help me & I have this in the right spot.
Would anyone around Melb have seen any of the speakers below setup in store where I can drop in & listen to them?
Sonus Faber Venere 3.0
Focal Aria 948
Martian Logan Motion 60XT
Thanks in advance

Thanks for the input gent's.
I finished off the new stand & I'm happy enough with it. Total cost inc a couple of cheap Ryobi power tools was around the $700 mark which I reckon isn't to bad for a solid 26mm Victorian Ash stand 2100 long & 600mm deep
I picked up the Yamaha CX-A5100 & Yamaha BD-A1060 Bluray last week after a PM from a member here pointed me in the right direction. XLR cables should be on the way next week once they have been made & labeled. Should order an Electra 7ch amp next week, but if the good cook isn't with me I might grab them both lol, easier to say "sorry sweetpea" then get approval in the first place

I just ordered a heap of XLR & RCA cables from http://www.ordiocables.com.au
Absolutely brilliant communication, which is something I appreciate being an old fart interstate, good prices & brand name components.

Thank you gents,
Hi Dan, I did see you amp in t classifieds & thought to myself if only h was in Vic lol. Also heard that the Mk5 are not so good compared to the others. Love the look of the Mk4 but can't find any about.
Hi Al, I'm thinking I might go the Sonus for mains mate. Hopefully find a store that has them setup & go in for a look see. I like steps, was planning to grab the pre-amp first & use the current avr's as amp only until I grab an Elektra. Then mains, then another Elektra. I haven't thought any further then that for the moment. I dragged out the old Yamaha RX-V2095 & still have a RX-V2065 hooked up now.
I will also check out the stores you have listed, thanks for that
Hi Steven, 4 tanks would have kept you amused on the weekend lol. We only have 2 tanks in the room but they total 6000ltrs so not tanking any chances, 4000ltrs of salt water going through the place is something I do not want to deal with lol.
Thanks for the heads up on the avr reply's in here, I did think that which is why I haven't posted it earlier. Ahh well that will learn me huh. I've started now so no going back or searching for any other forum, I'll just lurk around lol.
As for room size, I'm pretty sure we have one of the worst rooms around for audio lol. I've attached a very quick paint thingy of the ground floor. As you can see the ground floor is just a wide open space. The 4.5m square bit is where it will all be setup.
As for budget, umm, lets not go there as chooken will prob read this & she will try to put the brakes on lol. I figure if each bit is around the 3-4k mark it doesn't sound as bad? Mains I'm happy to go a bit more. Media will be the Yamaha bluray listed above, Xbox 360 & oneS, normal TV & CD's, that's about it I think.
I keep an eye on the classifieds most days when I can. I've picked up a couple of bits. Picked up a pair of Osborn datalink speaker cables last weekend. After finding the webpage I think I might run that for all the speakers. I like Aussie made & local is just a bonus. He is only about 20mins from here lol.
I told you I prattle on

Hi all,
Let me start by saying I do tend to prattle on so sorry about that.
I've been lurking around reading all & picking up a little knowledge here & there. Not a lot of topic's in here I can reply to as I have no idea about half of this audio stuff lol, but hopefully that can change. I really do not have the time to sit & listen to music no matter how much I'd like to so the next best thing is to upgrade the movie setup. No one in my current circle has much of an idea on the HT subject other then JB or Harvey Norman's & until recently I was in the same boat. Ask me about keeping a slice of the Great Barrier reef in your lounge & then I could post till your sick of it lol. With 2 tanks in the room I'm kinda limited as to how extreme the noise can be also.
So I'm hoping people here can help me out with some advice, ideas, different directions, shopping spots in Melbourne or anything else that might be important. From reading a lot of comments here & online there are a few shops I will visit with an open mind but it sounds like service can be a bit hit & miss with some of them. I hate shopping at the best of times so I hope I'm having a good day when I venture out lol. It's so much easier to throw your card at the better half or one of the workers & say "go buy me one of these" I'm not the most politically correct kid on the block when it comes to being ignored or looked at sideways
So here's my shopping list so far, feel free to tell me I've got it wrong or could throw in.
Pre-amp -
Yamaha CX-A5100 Adventage 11ch
Amps -
Emotiva XPA Gen3 7ch & 5ch
Elektra HD2 7ch & 5ch (I'm leaning towards this pair)
I was going to just go the Yamaha MX-A5000 but figured a bit more oomph can't be a bad thing
Main speakers -
Richter Dragons - I remember hearing these in the early 90's & it's stuck with me lol, could be I'm imagining better then reality so long ago.
Focal Aria 936 - Lots of good reviews & threads about them
Sonus Faber Venere3 - Again I remember hearing the Grand Piano's when I brought a Yamaha RX-V2095. Leaning towards this pair
DVD -
Yamaha BD-A1060
XLR cables -
No idea needing so many
Speaker cables -
Picking up a few here & there to try a few variations.
That's about as far as I have got so far.
I did pick up a Thor PS10 from a member here. A pair of Osborn speaker cables & some Zu RCA's from other members here. Not hooked up, just put into the pile of stuff to try. About the only time CD's get played here is on the weekend while I'm playing in the tank, it's just background noise during the day, for that reason the ole Sony 200 CD stacker comes into play with the Zu cables lol. Overkill? Ah well. I need a new cabinet for it all & the one I have now is to small for the TV so currently DIY'ing a 2100 long stand for it all. Hopefully have that done in a few weeks.
I probably bored you all so I'll stop here. Thanks for reading if you made it this far lol